And the time has finally come. EA has announced that it will shut down Anthem on January 12th, 2026. This means the game’s servers will go offline, and after that, no one will be able to play the game anymore.
Anthem was an online shooter where up to four players could team up and play together. Each player picked a javelin exosuit, and that choice changed how they played in the team. The game was supposed to have an exciting story with cool characters. But in the end, the story felt simple and not very special. Anthem also had many problems. The loot system wasn’t fun, there wasn’t enough content, the trailers before release looked better than the real game, and the developers didn’t keep many of their promises.
In February 2020, EA and BioWare announced Anthem Next (also known as Anthem 2.0). That version was meant to overhaul its gameplay mechanics. However, one year later, EA announced its cancellation.
The good news for those who had purchased Anthem was that they could still play it. Although BioWare stopped supporting it, there were still servers that allowed you to play.
Sadly, starting January 12th, 2026, you won’t be able to play it, even if you own a physical copy. Anthem did not have an Offline Mode. So now that EA will take down its servers, the game will be dead.
Ironically, this happened on the same day that the “Stop Killing Games” petition hit 1 million signatures. “Stop Killing Games” is a movement started by players who want to stop companies from “destroying” games they’ve already sold. The goal is to make devs add a way for players to still play a game even after its online servers are turned off. Sadly, this won’t help games that are already out. So, this wouldn’t save Anthem. Still, it feels kind of ironic that Anthem is ending just as this petition reached its big goal.
That’s why many players don’t like online-only games. Believe it or not, even some single-player games need an internet connection just to play. This isn’t a joke. This has actually happened. So, more power to Stop Killing Games. This is a movement we highly support. And let’s hope that the devs will pull themselves together. Especially after all the recent layoffs happening in the industry.
Another great example of why Stop Killing Games needs to succeed is The Crew. The Crew also relied on online servers, and it did not have an offline mode. And when Ubisoft announced its plans to sunset it, it angered a lot of gamers. Need for Speed 2015 is another game that does not have an offline mode. So, when EA shuts down its servers, it will be a dead game. And the list goes on and on.
Stay tuned for more!
